CASABLANCA LOSES LIQUOR LICENSES, WILL APPEAL

A hearing officer for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Department has revoked
the licenses to sell alcoholic beverages of a second downtown restaurant
because of drug trafficking there.

"It's an unfair decision, and it will be appealed," said Michael Pace, the
owner of Casablanca at 6 E. Grace St. He can appeal the revocation order of
hearing officer Clara A. Williamson to the ABC Board. The restaurant will
remain open while the appeal is pending.

ABC enforcement agents alleged that the restaurant had become a meeting
place for drug users and that Pace had allowed drug use at the restaurant.

Pace testified that he had a "zero tolerance" policy on drugs, and two drug
dealers testified that Pace did not know they were dealing drugs. One, John
Cecil Whitehead, said he had denied it when Pace confronted him about
rumors that he was selling cocaine and Ecstasy there.

Whitehead has been sentenced to four years in prison for drug dealing, and
he acknowledged that he often sold drugs or arranged the sale of drugs from
the restaurant.

A bartender at the restaurant, Kevin Easton, testified that he arranged for
the purchase or sale of drugs at the restaurant and recalled a conversation
in which he told Pace that he wasn't using or dealing drugs at the restaurant.

Easton said Pace told him that he didn't care what he did on his own time
but to keep drugs out of the restaurant.

Williamson said Pace's decision to have his staff watch Whitehead closely
rather than bar him from the restaurant and his implicit acknowledgment of
Easton's drug use reflected his failure to take effective action to keep
drugs out of the business.

Two other downtown restaurants have come under ABC scrutiny. A hearing
officer ordered the revocation of the ABC licenses of Cafine's at Fourth
and Grace streets after concluding that the owners were aware of and
encouraged the use of Ecstasy during rave nights at the club.

The owners have appealed the revocation to the ABC board, and a hearing is
set for Aug. 14. Despite the appeal, Cafine's is out of business because
the landlord evicted the owners.

The same hearing officer, Michael Oglesby, found that Fahrenheit Restaurant
and Club at 119 N. 18th St. was a meeting place for drug users and dealers.
He suspended the club's alcohol licenses for 60 days but said it could
reduce the suspension to 45 days by paying a $2,000 fine.

The restaurant has appealed the suspension to the ABC Board.